Easy Cinnamon Sugar Snowball Cookies Recipe for Cozy Holiday Baking and Cookie Trays
These cinnamon sugar snowball cookies are soft, buttery little rounds with a melt-in-your-mouth texture and a warm cinnamon-sugar coating in every bite. They take about 20 minutes of hands-on time plus a chill, make about 24 cookies, and need no mixer if you don’t have one.
These are the cookie I make when the house needs to smell like the holidays. No chocolate, no nuts, just butter, cinnamon, and a snowy dusting of sugar.
They’re also the easiest cookie on my tray. Five ingredients, one bowl, and they come together faster than it takes the oven to preheat.
I like keeping a batch of this dough in the freezer through December. Scoop, bake, roll in sugar — ready whenever company shows up unannounced.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Only 5 pantry ingredients, no eggs needed
- Melts in your mouth thanks to the powdered sugar in the dough
- No mixer required — a bowl and a spoon work fine
- Freezer-friendly dough, so you can bake a few at a time
- Mild cinnamon flavor that reads as cozy, not spicy
- Holds its round shape in the oven instead of spreading flat
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter, softened (1 cup) — not melted, see note below
- Powdered sugar (1 1/2 cups, divided)
- Vanilla extract (1 tsp)
- Ground cinnamon (1 tsp)
- All-purpose flour (2 cups)
- Salt (1/4 tsp, skip if using salted butter)
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Butter temperature matters more than usual here. Soft and cool to the touch, not warm or shiny. Butter that’s gone greasy or started to melt is the main reason these cookies spread flat instead of holding their round shape.
Powdered sugar, not granulated, both in the dough and for rolling. Granulated sugar in the dough makes the texture grainy instead of sandy-soft, and granulated sugar for rolling won’t cling the same way.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cream the Butter and Sugar
Beat the softened butter and 1/2 cup powdered sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl down a couple of times so nothing sticks unmixed at the edges.
Step 2: Add the Vanilla and Cinnamon
Mix in the vanilla and cinnamon until just combined.
Step 3: Mix in the Flour
Add the flour and salt and mix on low until the dough just comes together. It should look soft and a little crumbly, not wet. If it feels dry and won’t hold together when you squeeze a bit in your hand, work in another tablespoon of softened butter rather than adding water or milk — extra liquid changes how the cookies bake.
Step 4: Chill the Dough
Gather the dough into a ball, cover it, and chill for at least 1 hour. This step is what keeps the cookies round instead of flat — skipping it is the most common reason snowball cookies spread in the oven.
Step 5: Shape and Bake
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, keeping them a consistent size so they bake evenly, and place them 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the bottoms are just turning golden. Don’t wait for the tops to brown — by then the bottoms are already overdone and the cookies turn dry and sandy instead of tender.
Step 6: Cool Slightly
Let the cookies sit on the pan for about 5 minutes. They’re too soft to move right out of the oven, but they firm up fast.
Step 7: Roll in Cinnamon Sugar
Mix the remaining 1 cup powdered sugar with a little extra cinnamon if you want more spice. Roll the warm cookies in the mixture while they’re still a little warm — that’s when the sugar actually sticks instead of sliding off. Let them cool completely, then roll a second time for full, snowy coverage.
Tips for the Best Results
- Shape all the dough balls the same size so they finish baking at the same time
- Check at 10 minutes even if your oven usually runs cool — these go from golden to overbaked fast
- Roll twice in sugar: once warm for the coating to stick, once cool for the snowy finish
Variations and Add-ins
- Stir in mini chocolate chips for a chocolate chip snowball version
- Swap in orange zest alongside the cinnamon for a citrus-spice twist
- Dust the second coating with a pinch of cocoa powder mixed into the sugar for a mocha-cinnamon finish
Cinnamon Sugar Snowball Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Beat the softened butter and 1/2 cup powdered sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl down a couple of times so nothing sticks unmixed at the edges.
- Mix in the vanilla and cinnamon until just combined.
- Add the flour and salt and mix on low until the dough just comes together. It should look soft and a little crumbly, not wet. If it feels dry and won’t hold together when you squeeze a bit in your hand, work in another tablespoon of softened butter rather than adding water or milk.
- Gather the dough into a ball, cover it, and chill for at least 1 hour. This keeps the cookies round instead of flat.
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the bottoms are just turning golden.
- Let the cookies sit on the pan for about 5 minutes to firm up.
- Mix the remaining 1 cup powdered sugar with a little extra cinnamon if desired. Roll the warm cookies in the mixture while they’re still a little warm, then let them cool completely and roll a second time for full coverage.
Notes
- Chill the dough at least 1 hour — this is what keeps the cookies round instead of flat.
- Roll the cookies in sugar once while warm and once after they cool for the best coating.
- Nutrition is an estimate calculated from the ingredients and will vary with brands and portion size.
Make a Batch of These for Your Holiday Cookie Tray
These cinnamon sugar snowball cookies are the kind of thing you can mix up on a Tuesday night and still feel like you did something festive. No fuss, no fancy tools, just a cozy little cookie that disappears fast off the tray.
If you’re baking for a crowd, double the batch — the dough freezes well, so you can always have a few ready to bake off whenever you need a last-minute treat.
Give these a try this season, and if you do, I’d love it if you left a star rating and let me know how they turned out!
For more holiday cookie recipes you will love:
